Dear Colleague, I’m writing to invite you to join a growing list of environmental scientists in signing a letter to support the expansion of the Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument (hereafter Monument or NM), enacted by President Obama on January 12, 2017. In late April President Trump directed Interior Secretary Zinke to review a number of national monuments established by previous presidents under the Antiquities Act and make recommendations about their potential future. The Cascade-Siskiyou NM is one of the monuments that is being scrutinized, and there is a strong possibility that the administration will move to reduce or eliminate the recent expansion – and possibly even the original June 2000 Monument, as well – in the next several months. Given this imminent threat, it’s critically important to let federal policy makers know that there is strong and widespread scientific support for protecting this ecologically unique and diverse area.
Originally established in 2000 by President Clinton, the Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument is located in southwest Oregon and adjacent California and is the only unit of BLM’s National Conservation Lands created explicitly to protect an area of outstanding biological diversity. The greater Cascade-Siskiyou landscape is exceptional in that it lies at the crossroads of four distinct ecoregions, includes a wide variety of terrain, soils and climate, and supports high species diversity, including many rare species and biotic communities. The recent ~48,000 acre expansion helps to address ecological shortcomings of the original boundary and includes areas of federal land identified by scientific assessments as most essential for achieving the Monument’s long-term conservation goals. I would appreciate it if you could review the letter pasted below in support of retaining the Cascade-Siskiyou Monument expansion, and let us know if you are willing to become a signatory. All those willing or interested in becoming signatories to the attached letter should send correspondence regarding this invitation to [email protected] by June 16, 2017 (earlier is preferable). Please provide name, title and affiliation(s), city and state as they should appear on the letter. We greatly appreciate your attention and support regarding this issue, and hope to hear from you in the coming weeks. The Honorable Ryan Zinke, Secretary Monument Review, MS-1530 U.S. Department of the Interior 1849 C Street, N.W. Washington D.C. 20240 May 22, 2017 RE: Scientific Support for Expansion of the Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument Dear Secretary Zinke, As professional scientists with extensive experience in ecology, natural resource management and other related disciplines, we write to express our strong support for maintaining the recent expansion of the Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument (hereafter Monument) in southwest Oregon and adjacent California, as enacted by presidential proclamation in January 2017. The Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument, originally established as 52,947 acres in June 2000, is unique among the BLM's National Conservation Lands in that it was designated specifically to preserve an area of "remarkable biological diversity." Sitting at the crossroads of four distinct ecoregions and encompassing a wide range of topography, climate and geology, the greater Cascade-Siskiyou landscape is recognized as one of the most biologically diverse places in North America. The original Monument proclamation describes it as an "ecological wonder" that is "home to a spectacular variety of rare and beautiful species of plants and animals, whose survival in this region depends upon its continued ecological integrity". Over a decade after the Monument was initially established, mounting scientific evidence and professional opinion indicated that the original boundaries were too small to ensure persistence of the many biological "Objects of Scientific Interest" that the Monument was originally established to protect. As summarized in a 2011 interdisciplinary report, there are several reasons why previous boundaries were unlikely to sustain the ecological integrity of the Monument over the long term: • Many special-status plant and animal populations, as well as high quality examples of the area's biotic communities identified as Objects of Interest in Monument's proclamation, remained outside existing boundaries, where they were vulnerable to incompatible management; • Some boundaries were based solely on administrative rather than ecological criteria (e.g., the Oregon-California state line), which over time, would likely compromise the integrity of the Monument's terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems; • Climate change in the region is altering the distributions of plants and animals that are the focal points for conservation, in some cases likely pushing them outside of original Monument boundaries, and; • The population of southwest Oregon is growing rapidly. As a result, more areas immediately adjacent to the Monument are facing increased development or intensive land use pressures (e.g., logging, residential expansion, water diversions) that are likely to undermine long-term persistence of the Monument’s biological resources. Without Monument expansion, the bulk of scientific evidence strongly suggested that some of the area's important biological values were at high risk of irreversible degradation and loss. After considering these issues within the context of a much broader public review process, President Obama expanded the Cascade-Siskiyou Monument by 47,660 acres, including BLM lands in both southwest Oregon and adjacent California. It is important to note that this boundary enlargement was considerably smaller than what had previously been recommended by an interdisciplinary group of scientists. Nevertheless, the end result is that revised Monument boundaries are now better aligned with what is necessary to likely sustain the area's critically important Objects of Interest. We specifically endorse and applaud expansion of this Monument because it: • Generally includes those areas identified by scientific assessments as being most essential to sustain the area's outstanding biodiversity; • Contains many biological "Objects of Interest" that were highlighted in the original proclamation but under-represented within previous Monument boundaries; • Is likely to play a vital role in maintaining ecological integrity of the landscape the Monument was established to protect, and; • Improves landscape and watershed connectivity with nearby federal lands, a factor that is crucial for sustaining populations of wide-ranging species and creating greater resilience in the face of climate change. On April 26, 2017, President Trump signed Executive Order 13792 requesting you to review many national monuments designated or expanded by previous presidents under the Antiquities Act, including Cascade-Siskiyou. As part of this review process now underway, we write to share with you our professional judgement that the recent expansion of the Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument is scientifically well-supported. The expansion contains an outstanding diversity of plants, animals and natural communities that clearly qualify as "Objects of Scientific Interest" under the Antiquities Act, and represents a necessary step to safeguard the numerous biological and other values for which this landscape has been widely recognized. We believe that reducing the boundaries or diminishing any aspect of the expansion would greatly reduce the likelihood of achieving the conservation goals for which the Monument was originally established. Therefore, as natural resource scientists who recognize the importance of conserving our nation's biological treasures for the benefit of present and future generations, we urge you to maintain the current Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument in all respects. Sincerely yours, A. Scientists that Contributed to the 2011 Cascade-Siskiyou Monument Boundary Study* Brian Barr, M.Sc, Fisheries Biologist and Executive Director Rogue River Watershed Council, Central Point, OR Scott Hoffman Black, M.Sc, Executive Director Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation, Portland, OR and Chair, IUCN Butterfly Specialist Group Richard Brock, M.Sc, Senior Botanist and Manager Siskiyou BioSurvey LLC, Ashland, OR Dominick DellaSala, Ph.D, Chief Scientist Geos Institute, Ashland, OR Evan Frost, M.Sc, Conservation Biologist Wildwood Consulting, Ashland, OR Paul Hosten, Ph.D, Terrestrial Ecologist Talent, OR Steve Jessup, Ph.D, Botanist Paradise Cryptobiota Biodiversity LLC, Ashland, OR Frank Lang, Ph.D, Professor (Emeritus), Department of Biology Southern Oregon University, Ashland, OR Michael Parker, Ph.D, Aquatic Ecologist, Department of Biology Southern Oregon University, Ashland, OR Dennis Odion, Ph.D, Vegetation Ecologist Southern Oregon University, Ashland, OR Jeannine Rossa, M.Sc, Aquatic Ecologist Ecolink Consulting, Talent, OR Darlene Southworth, Ph.D, Professor (Emeritus), Department of Biology Southern Oregon University, Ashland, OR Pepper Trail, Ph.D, Conservation Biologist Ashland, OR Jack Williams, Ph.D, Chief Scientist Trout Unlimited, Medford, OR B. Additional Scientists in Support of Existing Cascade-Siskiyou Monument Expansion* ADDITIONAL SIGNATORIES TO APPEAR HERE *affiliations for identification purposes only
